Mother and sons had been hanged

No-one has been arrested in connection with the deaths

A mother in her 20s and her two sons whose bodies were discovered at a house in the West Midlands had been hanged.

A post-mortem examination revealed all three died as a result of hanging, West Midlands Police said.

Their bodies were discovered at a house in Radnor Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, on Wednesday evening.

Det Insp Bob Bradford said police are not seeking anyone else in connection with the deaths. The boys were aged one and two.

Police said the children's father was taken away for his own welfare but had not been arrested.

The scene remained sealed off on Thursday while forensic examinations took place.

'Seemed distraught'

A neighbour, Bernard Bates, said the father arrived at the house at 2100 BST on Wednesday night.

Ten minutes later, Mr Bates and his wife heard police sirens outside.

"Because of the sirens we looked out of the window and they had blocked the road off and there were cars and vans and everything there.

"The police took him (the husband) away last night - I suppose he was in shock. He wasn't handcuffed or anything like that and he seemed distraught.

"He was distraught but it's a shock situation to lose your whole family, to come home and find that, its awful."

He added they had seemed a nice family. The mother could not speak English but was polite and a good neighbour, he said.

The family have not been named by police as they have not been formally identified.

'Heard screaming'

House-to-house inquiries are being made in the area.

The bodies were discovered at a semi-detached house, which is understood to be divided into at least two flats.

The newly renovated property was being guarded by a single policeman on Thursday.

One neighbour said she had heard screaming coming from the house two weeks ago but had not called the police because she did not want to bother them.